successful engagement strategies to improve wellness ... · •the good health is good business...

Successful Engagement

Strategies to Improve Wellness

Participation

David Rearick, DO, MBA

Stephen Cherniak, MS, MBA

Importance of Engagement

• Key ingredient of Population Health

Management.

• Champion companies achieve an 85% -

95% engagement rate over three years.

• Participation is not engagement.

• One of the necessary metrics to identify

successful outcomes.

Asking the Experts

• The Good Health is Good Business Radio

Show: www.healthybusinessradio.com

• A healthy workforce is a competitive advantage

• Interviews professional experts in all areas of

health & wellness; (i.e. researchers, authors,

vendor management, worksite coordinators,

associations, government officials, …..)

• Over 40 guests & counting

Each Interview Ended with the Same

Question

• What have you found to be the most

successful engagement strategy to get

members to participate in health and

wellness programs?

Answers Fall into Four Categories

• Audience Participation

Answers Fall into Four Categories

• Leadership

• Incentives

• Culture

• Communications

Dr. Dee Edington, Director of

University of Michigan Health Management Research Center

• “Requires both senior leadership and operational leadership commitment. Also, need a culture that supports a level of trust.”

Leadership

Don Doster, President of Gbehavior

• “Need leadership to understand the importance of wellness and adapt it within the organization. Wellness needs to be internally driven to be successful, not externally.”

Leadership

Dr. Gene Migliaccio, Director of

Federal Occupational Health Service

• “Success is represented by Leadership from top to bottom. Employees should have the power to lead from where they sit. Need sufficient funding and workplace policies to support endeavor.”

Leadership

Rajiv Kumar, President and Co-

founder of Shape Up the Nation

• “Create a bottom-up approach in companies. Senior leadership is necessary; but also need to figure out a grass roots approach that employees can use to cultivate engagement among each other.”

Leadership

Katie Bell Wreed, The Gallup

Group and the Well-Being Index

• “Leadership that leads by example. Visible and committed.”

Leadership

Michael Nadeau, President of

Viverae

• “Properly designed and implemented incentive program.”

Incentives

Jo Steinberg, President of Midland

Health

• “Financial incentives integrated to health plan design.”

Incentives

Dr. Michael O’Donnell, Founder

and Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion

• “Building financial incentives into health plans. Incentives drive engagement but do not change behavior.”

Incentives

Al Lewis, President of the Disease

Management Purchasing Consortium

• “Economic incentives tied to health outcomes.”

Incentives

Wendy Lynch, Executive Director of

the Health and Human Capital Foundation

• “Align incentives that are tangible and measurable with responsibilities that are tangible and measurable. Good business is good health; and Good performance is good health.”

Incentives

David Hunnicutt, President of

Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA)

• “Incentives get attention and compliance but not commitment. Push a communication flow that says: We Care; Your Health is important; We’re going to help; and Who to contact. Wellness is something you to with and for people; and not something you do to them.”

Incentives

David Atkinson, VP Corporate

Wellness, Cooper Corporate Solutions

• “Need meaningful incentives to get the attention of employees.

• Then, you must have a consistent and sustainable communication plan that creates comfort and program importance. ”

Incentives & Communications

Don Powell, President of the

American Institute for Preventive Medicine

• “Ongoing communications.”

Communications

John Harris, Senior VP and Chief

Wellness Officer of Healthways

• “Reaching people on a personal level as to what’s unique to them. Through communications and incentives.”

Communications

Dean Witherspoon, President of

Health Enhancement Systems

• “Campaigns to engage as many employees as possible.”

Communications

Dr. Casey Chosewood, Sr. Medical

Officer for Worklife Progams, CDC

• “Building a culture and environment where good health naturally evolves, instead of creating hoops that employees must jump through.”

Culture

Claire Monroe, Weight Watchers at

Work Leader

• “Be flexible with employees –have an accommodating culture.”

Culture

Dr. James Levine, Mayo Clinic

• “Impassion – a network of support to create employee interaction; a buddy system.”

Culture

Chuck Reynolds, The Benfield

Group

• “Coworkers, friends, and neighbors all have stories to tell. Create health mentors that share, guide and demonstrate healthy lifestyles to peers. You’re building from the ground up.”

Culture

Dr. Barbara Moquin, Senior

Health Advisor with the NIH

• “FUN – create small and many moments of engagement – not programs of engagement.”

Culture

Dr. Barton Margoshes,

Sr. Medical Director, Aetna

• “Successful companies have three characteristics:1. C-suite commitment & support.

2. Corporate culture of health.

3. Good communications.”

Combined Strategies

Nico Pronk, Board President,

International Association of Worksite Health Promotion

• “Research has shown that to drive high levels (90%) of participation, you need:1. Meaningful incentives to get the

employees to pay attention.

2. Good communications – consistent and comprehensive.

3. Incentives and communications need to fit into the corporate culture.”

Combined Strategies

What Does This Mean?

• Differing methods to achieve engagement.

• Best approach is to focus on the four key

areas addressed here today. All

reinforced by the existing literature.

• Engagement is not the ultimate goal of a

wellness initiative; but without - a healthy

workforce cannot exist.

Resources

• Zero Trends, Health as a Serious Economic

Strategy: Dr. Dee Edington,

www.hmrc.umich.edu.

• Good Health is Good Business – An

Implementation Guide for Corporate

Wellness: Dr. David Rearick,

www.wellfitadvantage.com.

• WellFit Advantage Health Promotion

Program, www.wellfitadvantage.com

• Good Health is Good Business Radio:

www.healthybusinessradio.com.

• Dr. David Rearick: daver@sbs-benefits.com

• Stephen Cherniak: stephenc@sbs-benefits.com